US60 to US93 to Hoover Dam - Time: 5 hours 250+ miles (from central Phoenix)

Hoover Dam straddles the mighty Colorado River, which forms the border between the states of Nevada and Arizona. Considered to be the world’s largest dam and an engineering marvel at the time of its construction in the 1930s, Hoover Dam brings much-needed water and power to the Southwest.

The Bureau of Reclamation has offered tours of this National Historic Landmark since 1937. Today, the dam draws nearly a million visitors a year. Tourists are not only intrigued by the dam’s immense size and its huge hydroelectric generators, but also by the elegant Art Deco designs on the dam’s four towers, spillways, and power plant. The Nevada side plaza features two Modernist-style bronze sculptures called the Winged Figures of the Republic and a polished terrazzo floor. Here you’ll also find a plaque commemorating the 96 workers who died during the dam’s construction. Contrary to a popular myth, however, no workers are buried in the dam’s concrete.

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